Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Role of Social Media in Crisis Preparedness
The Role of Social Media in Crisis Preparedness
Executive Summary
The paper identified four main social media functions: (1) information
dissemination, (2) disaster planning and training, (3) collaborative problem
solving and decision making, and (4) information gathering, which are then
mapped onto the three crisis management phases of preparedness, response and
recovery to describe how a range of social media tools may be used to enhance
crisis communications. Case examples of international organisations and
governments using social media for crisis management are shared.
1
Introduction
2. The advent of a plethora of social media tools has changed the landscape
of crisis management considerably over recent years with possibilities for social
action now becoming realities. With readily available software tools such as
online discussion platforms and news aggregators, organisations can now
disseminate, acquire and analyse information more efficiently and
comprehensively. While social media has the ability to prevent a crisis from
spiraling out of control, organisations cannot ignore its ability to aggravate an
unfolding crisis situation.
3. The UK riot in 2011 was a case in point. The question of how a small
protest against apparent police brutality in Tottenham could spark riots and
vandalism as far afield as Huddersfield has given rise to the need to examine the
interrelated questions of how social media has influenced the UK riots. Social
media’s role as a catalyst is undeniable as numerous reports attest to the ways in
which rioters and onlookers used social media to organize and communicate.
Rioters would share with each other where areas were not protected, and would
move there in an instance. The speed and impact of the social media initially
overwhelmed the authorities.
4. While social media can impact politics, social movements and the
communication of information, the technology alone cannot be blamed for
sparking the revolts. Ultimately, social media is a tool, and the same tool that
can cause a negative impact, can also bring about positive outcomes by
facilitating and accelerating the speed and breadth of communication, if
properly utilised. This paper examines the use of social media tools by
Governments and non-governmental organisations (NGO) for crisis
preparedness, crisis response and crisis recovery, and describes some of the key
considerations for social media to be used effectively during the crisis response
phase. It draws lessons as well as best practices that can be applied to strengthen
government crisis management capabilities through the use of social media.
2
The paper is divided into three sections:
3
SECTION 1
5. The medium is not always the message. Social media devoid of purpose
and content would do little to enable people to prepare, respond and recover in
the face of disasters. Generically speaking, social media can be defined as “a
form of new media that facilitates social interaction and communication through
the use of online internet-based platforms.” Within this broad ambit, social
media tools can be categorised into the following:
1
Folksonomy is a system of classification derived from the practice and method of collaboratively creating and
managing tags to annotate and categorise content.
4
a. Collectivity. The collective nature of social media serves to
connect people across geographical boundaries and time zones via
common platforms, to foster the growth of online communities with
similar interests;
7. Crises are complex in nature, have disproportionate effects and can move
at varying speeds. By harnessing the characteristics of the social media tools,
organisational capacity to demonstrate resilience in response to crises can be
significantly enhanced by creating new avenues for collaboration to help build
more resilient communities over time. For example, at the onset of a crisis,
information from social networks and blogs can be accessed by crisis
managers and responders to help identify the source and severity of the crisis
and distribute a consistent message to the affected communities. As search
links and other relevant resources are tagged and evaluated based on
recommendations by people on bookmarking sites, crisis managers are better
able to search and gather information, and respond to on-going developments as
they trend.
a. Purpose. Prior to the advent of social media tools, the use of the
Internet was largely confined to informational purposes. With social
media tools, people can now share content. However, to truly exploit the
capabilities of social media tools, we need to go one step further and find
ways to engage people through the use of more creative and interactive
social applications to enhance collaboration with like-minded
communities;
Meeting the challenges posed by crisis situations will mean using a much more
decentralized, inclusive and interactive process. Table 1 (below) summarises the
paradigm shift needed from the past and the present to the future in the use of
social media tools for organizations to effectively exploit their potential.
7
Table 1: Past, Present and Future of Social Media Tools
Gathering
Core Activity information Tracking issues Guiding action
Information
Discrete data Networks Relationships
Content
Treatment of
Data Privileged
information Transparency
Confidentiality information
1 + Multi- 1+2+
Specialist
Output stakeholder Crowdsourced
assessment [1]
perspectives [2] opinions
3
Multiple actors include stakeholders such as inter-governmental organizations (IGO), non-governmental
organizations (NGO) and ordinary citizens.
8
SECTION 2
10. Crisis management can be broadly divided into three phases: (1) crisis
preparedness, (2) crisis response, and (3) crisis recovery:
11. Across these three stages, social media tools can be used for (1)
information dissemination, (2) disaster planning and training, (3) collaborative
problem solving and decision making, and (4) information gathering. This is
illustrated in Figure 1 and elaborated in the ensuing paragraphs.
9
a. Information dissemination. Information dissemination through
social media tools is an effective means to provide reliable information
quickly to the public to enable them to better prepare for and respond to
crises. However, the effectiveness is dependent on the reach and
penetration of social media platforms across technological know-how,
education, age, language and culture. As an example, the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) is able
to provide early warning for rapid response to complex humanitarian
emergencies based on information gathered because of OCHA’s
multimedia platforms such as ReliefWeb and the IRIN news service,
which are aimed at providing more detailed analysis to a wider audience;
4
Gamification refers to the use of gaming mechanics to non-gaming situations to promote desired behaviours
and the adoption of appropriate applications to support these behaviours.
10
to allow the public to voice their concerns, perceptions, and thoughts
regarding on-going developments.
13. A summary table providing further insights into these tools and how
organizations have used them effectively is provided in Annex A and elaborated
through 6 caselets attached as Annex B.
11
SECTION 3
b. Strategic Guidelines
c. Capability Development
i. Early Detection ii. Optimised iii. Integrated Public
Task Handling Alert and Feedback
System
d. Measurement Activities
12
way replace existing means of communication, such process and
protocols need to be harmonised;
5
A leading indicator may be used to monitor for possible emerging signals before new developments occur.
13
Conclusion
Enclosures
Vanguard is a product of the RAHS Programme Office (RPO), which is part of the National Security
Coordination Centre (NSCC) in the Prime Minister’s Office.
RPO seeks to be A Leading Centre of Expertise in Strategic Anticipation for National Security. For more
information on the RPO, please visit our website www.rahs.gov.sg.
14
REFERENCES
Ben Ramalingam and Harry Jones with Toussaint Reba and John Young. 2008.
Exploring the Science of Complexity: Ideas and Implications for Development
and Humanitarian Efforts. Working Paper 285. Overseas Development Institute.
Cole, R. (2009). Social Media: What Does it Mean for Public Managers?,
Public Management. October, 2009. 8-12.
15
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2125/19
72.
James Mooney and A.C. Reiley, The Principles of Organisation (New York:
Harper, 1939).
16
ANNEX A
Crisis Information gathered is Courses are available on - Leverages mobile & web-
A-1
Mappers used to provide early crisis mapping related based applications,
warning for rapid topics to understand the participatory maps &
response to complex role of crisis mapping and crowdsourced event data to
humanitarian humanitarian technology gather information and
emergencies during crisis response power effective early
warning for rapid response
E.g., UNOCHA E.g., Harvard to complex humanitarian
Humanitarian Initiative, emergencies
United States Institute of
Peace, ICT for Peace E.g., ICT for Peace
Foundation, Federal Foundation, UNOCHA
Department of Foreign
Affairs – EDA,
UNOCHA
CrisisCamps/ CrisisCamps allows crisis Volunteers worked together Mobilizing almost 2000
Crisis response professionals to to build tools, search and laypeople (mostly
Commons explore new ways of translate data, and solve technologists) in 25 cities
sharing best practices unique challenges brought around the world to meet
forth by the crisis. information needs
A-3
CrisisCamps also rallied generated by the Haiti
and provided support, and E.g., Haiti Earthquake – operation.
attracted new volunteers Hack to expand long
to support response distance wifi connectivity E.g., Open StreetMap
efforts in the Thailand
floods and the Gulf Coast E.g., Random Hacks of
Oil Spill Kindness
A-4
ANNEX B
CASELET 1: SAHANA
Sahana is a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) application that provides a
comprehensive solution for disaster information management, relief and recovery
operations. Sahana includes web-based disaster management applications for inventory
management, situation awareness and volunteer coordination. Since 2007, the New
York City’s (NYC) Office of Emergency Management has used Sahana to manage its
all-hazards sheltering plan, which involves 500 shelters capable of housing over
800,000 persons during a crisis. As part of the NYC Coastal Storm Plan, Sahana was
used to plan for and manage the evacuation facility structures needed to house the
thousands of potential evacuees in the NYC metropolitan area.
In addition, during Hurricane Irene in 2011, Sahana helped the NYC’s Office of
Emergency Management manage aid and volunteers, and locate missing persons as
well as track information for government and non-profit agencies.
FOSS platforms like Sahana present a low cost option for setting up a crisis
management system while providing flexibility in terms of technical
customization based on the crisis situation. In addition, Sahana’s visualization
features provide a common and consistent way of tracking and representing
information that has been identified to support the early detection of risks and
uncertainties.
B-1
CASELET 2: FEMA
Through the use of social media, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
seeks to provide timely and accurate information concerning disaster preparedness response
and recovery as well as transparency into the agency's operations through internal and
external information exchange using appropriate channels.
FEMA provides valuable information on its main website that range from safety tips on
family emergency planning to storm and hurricane forecasts. Public forums are used to
promote interaction with crisis management organizations during a crisis. Another site by
FEMA, challenge.gov, allows FEMA and other federal agencies to pose questions on
specific challenges such as healthcare and energy conservation, to gather public feedback.
FEMA is currently working with Apple, Google and Microsoft to improve communication
between citizens, first responders, volunteer groups, the private sector and various levels of
government through the use of YouTube and Twitter.
The use of social media tools has allowed FEMA to tap on the best ideas from online
communities to better deal with crisis-hit areas by promoting communication using email
and Web 2.0 technologies that allow people to receive regular updates across 86 topical
areas such as storms, floods and earthquakes.
The application of social media tools such as Facebook and the deeper integration of
social networking practices into FEMA's communications plan through online GIS data
and automated RSS feeds, has enabled the agency to prepare for, respond to and recover
from disasters by enhancing internal collaboration and facilitating dialogue between
employees and external partners.
FEMA operates by using the approach of a single focal point to communicate with
the public on crisis-related matters. FEMA’s growing use of Web 2.0 tools and third
party social networking sites have also improved the quality of content being
posted, and enhanced the overall end-user functionality of its website.
B-2
Application of Social Media Tools for Crisis Relief
CASELET 3: USHAHIDI
Ushahidi Haiti was deployed during the Haiti Earthquake (2010) to crowdsource data
from people on the ground. Using social media tools and mobile text messages,
information gathered was crystallized to support coordination efforts of the
humanitarian relief services, which comprised human aid organizations including
InSTEDD and the Red Cross. The crowdsourced information, which came in the form
of reports, helped to improve organisational situational awareness of crisis-related
events occurring at various locations, and enhance decision-making in issues pertaining
to aid and resource.
B-3
CASELET 4: CRISIS MAPPING
In an era of data deluge, there is a need for better tools and training for analyzing
crisis information. The development of a few simple, shared analytic tools and
training sessions, such as crisis mapping tools and capabilities, could create greater
value from information extracted from various sources.
B-4
3. Caselets 5 and 6 describe the application of the following social media
functions to aid crisis recovery: (1) collaborative problem solving and decision-
making, and (2) information gathering.
CASELET 5: SensePlace2
SensePlace2 has been designed to integrate multiple text sources (e.g., news, RSS, blog
posts), which are then translated onto a map to allow emergency responders to easily
filter through data by place or time, so as to analyse changing issues and perspectives.
B-5
CASELET 6: REBUILDJOPLIN.ORG
The town of Joplin (Missouri, U.S.), which recently suffered a tornado in 2011,
provides a good example of how recovery has become increasingly social. In the
immediate days following the tornado, the majority of communication that was
happening within the city occurred almost entirely through social media, as it was
easier to post messages on Facebook and Twitter than to try and make a phone call or
send a mobile text message. As the effort moved into the recovery phase, the
communication and problem solving mechanisms were subsequently formalized and
strengthened through the use of the RebuildJoplin.org website.
The relative ease of using readily available social media tools, as in the case of
RebuildJopolin.org and its Facebook page, show how low-cost technological
solutions may be harnessed to support human practices in the areas of
information gathering and problem solving during a crisis.
The emphasis going forward could be to explore how organisations can foster
better community engagement before the onset of a crisis, so as to tap on its
knowledge base and potential capabilities, where possible, to improve crisis
response.
B-6